Monday, December 31, 2012

"Many adults are put off when youngsters pose scientific questions. Children ask why the sun is..."

“Many adults are put off when youngsters pose scientific questions. Children ask why the sun is yellow, or what a dream is, or how deep you can dig a hole, or when is the world’s birthday, or why we have toes. Too many teachers and parents answer with irritation or ridicule, or quickly move on to something else. Why adults should pretend to omniscience before a five-year-old, I can’t for the life of me understand. What’s wrong with admitting that you don’t know? Children soon recognize that somehow this kind of question annoys many adults. A few more experiences like this, and another child has been lost to science. There are many better responses. If we have an idea of the answer, we could try to explain. If we don’t, we could go to the encyclopedia or the library. Or we might say to the child: “I don’t know the answer. Maybe no one knows. Maybe when you grow up, you’ll be the first to find out.””



- Carl Sagan (via cracked)



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Monday, December 24, 2012

Steam sale

I set myself a strict $40 limit on Steam’s annual holiday sale, that’s all I left in my PayPal account, and have already burned through all but like $2.50 of it. :p


But I think i did pretty well. Got some old games I’ve been meaning to get since forever for dirt cheap, and some newer games and DLC for good prices. For 37.34, I got Jade Empire, Prince of Persia Warrior Within and Two Thrones (which gives me the full series), Legend of Grimrock (an indie RPG), Hearthfire and Dawnguard for Skyrim, and Walking Dead. Also, a friend got the 4 pack of Torchlight 2 and gave me one of the copies. :D If a cheap indie game (or a very old game) goes on sale I may be able to get one more, but I think I made out pretty well for the budget I set myself. Maybe the Skyrim DLC and Walking Dead will go on for more than 50% off, but… meh, probably would just save me 5 bucks or so.


The only one I’ve played at all is Walking Dead, it’s pretty good.






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Friday, December 21, 2012

I Know Who The Next Writer On Batgirl Is...

gailsimone:



…and her name is ME!


I am typing this on a snowy road, cell service is about to disappear, I know everyone has a million questions, but…




BATGIRL, baby!


Thank you to DC for this privilege, and a million thank yous to everyone who wanted to see this happen.


I am ECSTATIC.



Well I’m glad to see DC came to their senses on this!






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cracked: The Embarrassing Aftermath of the Mayan...





cracked:



The Embarrassing Aftermath of the Mayan ‘Apocalypse’


We went 24 hours into the future and found this video and now here it is to warn you that you should all probably just go about your day.







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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

nachtflix: pragnacious: experimentalmadness: Congress takes its first action after...

nachtflix:



pragnacious:



experimentalmadness:



Congress takes its first action after Newtown.


iandsharman:




jethroq:




club-afterlife:




hipsterinatardis:




think-progress:




Hint: It isn’t gun control.




Oh my God I’m going to throw something.




are you fucking kidding me




Wow.




image




image



image




Oh for fuck’s sake… We’ve ALREADY had numerous studies on the effect of violent video games on children, and the effect is minimal. Besides, the shooter wasn’t a child, so I fail to see the relevance?






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Monday, December 17, 2012

"Reacting To Recent Events..." - Bleeding Cool

"Reacting To Recent Events..." - Bleeding Cool:

Kind of conflicted feelings about this. I guess DC’s heart is in the right place, and I understand that with recent events, people are more sensitive than they may usually be to a lot of violence. Also, DC’s core books with their most iconic characters should appeal to a wide audience, so I get the decision making going on here. BUT…


Well, first of all, it’s been shown time and again that people who go on these violent rampages have mental/emotional problems that aren’t going to go away just because they don’t have access to violent fiction. Also, I think the news glorifying these killers does more to promote copycats than any comic book, game or TV show.


As far as the books go though, I think violence can be a powerful storytelling tool in the right hands. Sure, it’s sometimes used purely for shock value, but it can also be used to good effect to tell you something about the characters, the world/culture they live in, make a statement/commentary on real life issues, or just to make you jump, etc. If you’re hoping to sell he book on notoriety rather than quality, then yeah, you’re a hack. But a writer can use that violence to good effect, to make a story better. Look at Luther Strode by Justin Jordan, it’s probably the single most violent and gory comic I’ve read in years, (I do not read Crossed, I’ve heard that’s more gory, the covers certainly are) people are ripped in half, blood and intestines flying everywhere, heads exploding, all on panel. But there is a REASON for the over the top violence there, and the story would be lesser without it. (And you know, sometimes gratuitous violence can be fun, a release of sorts, so hey whatever, not all of it needs a point, I just think it’s much better if it does.)


I don’t think this potential tool should be removed from every book on the shelves (or movies in theatres, or show on TV etc.) just because SOME people use it badly. If someone is offended by the content, they don’t have to read/watch it.


DC by all means they should get to decide what sort of tone their books have, but at the same time I think toning down the violence would be a disservice to certain characters. Deathstroke, Midnighter, the Red Lanterns as a whole, hell, Batman, can all benefit from violence in their stories. I think some of what was done in the Bat-books was shock value, but when dealing with a psychopath like Joker, I damn well expect something disturbing and violent to occur. Batman and Robin #15 was pure undiluted nightmare fuel from cover to cover, but I loved the issue for it. No, it wasn’t appropriate for young kids, or people who just don’t like that sort of content, but DC has an internal rating system in place, they should use it. (and use it properly. Some of their ratings currently are rather baffling) Apply a T+ or even an M rating to some books with lots of violence, maybe make the ratings a bit more obvious on the cover than they are currently, but aside from books like the Justice League, let the story/character dictate how much violence is appropriate, maybe nix anything that’s clearly there only for shock value, then respond with a rating that reflects the content of the final book.


This ended up being a lot longer than i intended.






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6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person

Just heard someone call in to NPR and blame abortion for the Sandy Hook shooting

nachtflix:



The host even stopped her and was like “Are you really saying abortion has anything to do with this?”


No words.



uh… wow. some people really will try to use ANYTHING to promote their agenda, no matter how distasteful and wrong doing so may be.






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Sunday, December 16, 2012

‪Jurassic Park’s T-Rex - Sculpting a Full-Size Dinosaur at...





‪Jurassic Park’s T-Rex - Sculpting a Full-Size Dinosaur at Stan Winston Studio‬ (by StanWinstonSchool)


I remember back when Jurassic Park came out, and everyone was (understandably) in awe of ILM’s CGI FX, which were quite revolutionary at the time, Stan Winston’s contribution kinda got overshadowed by that, but it was no less impressive






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snapshotof: How sewing machines work huh. I have always kinda...






snapshotof:


How sewing machines work



huh. I have always kinda wondered…






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When people are like "Kurt had a great life as a kid!"



wow, this must have happened during the few years I stepped away from reading comics. That’s a horrible retcon to his backstory for all the reasons listed above. I’ll just keep his original backstory in my headcanon.



Yeah, it was pretty bad. I remember looking forward to it because it had been such a long time since ANYTHING had been done with the character. That story felt like a slap in the face to everything that came before. What’s the purpose of having serialized storytelling if we’re not going to abide by literally anything that came before? Though, comics have been doing that a lot lately…



Yeah, well, kinda standard practice with superhero comics in general… I love the characters, and still like reading the books, but the constant retconning can be a bit much at times (though sometimes a retcon can fix a previous problem… but usually just serves to make the backstories needlessly complex) sometimes you just have to pick and choose what to accept in your personal canon. I’m not going to accept this.






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Friday, December 14, 2012

sktagg23: Dear Abby’s advice to a reader nearly 30 years ago...





sktagg23:



Dear Abby’s advice to a reader nearly 30 years ago when they wrote in concerned that a gay couple had moved into their neighborhood.







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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

lemongrabss: (x) It’s a small thing, but I really love...

















lemongrabss:





It’s a small thing, but I really love how they created a sort of anti-gravity field (or something) around him with this scene to help explain how he flies. subtle, but effective.






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Man of Steel - Official Trailer #2 [HD] (by...





Man of Steel - Official Trailer #2 [HD] (by WarnerBrosPictures)


Okay. yeah. Still not liking the overly textured costume, but this looks pretty awesome.






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Can’t argue with this.





Can’t argue with this.






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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Saturday, December 8, 2012

gailsimone: sosuperawesome: The Adorable Story of a...









































gailsimone:



sosuperawesome:



The Adorable Story of a Grandmother and Her Cat


Japanese photographer Miyoko Ihara began taking pictures of her grandmother, Misao, 13 years ago to commemorate her rich life. Along the way, the photographer came across a beautiful bond between her now 88-year-old grandmother and a cat named Fukumaru, whose given name roughly translates as “good fortune circle.” In her photo book titled Misao the Big Mama and Fukumaru the Cat, Ihara captures the affectionate tale of these two best friends doing everything together.


Looking through a selection of photos from the book, one can see the genuine friendship and warmth between the inseparable pair as they keep each other company throughout their daily lives. It was nine years ago that Misao first found Fukumaru abandoned in a shed, described as an “odd-eyed kitten.” While the cat had its own ailments and hearing disabilities, the two have continued to grow old together, enjoying the beauty of everyday life against the stunning backdrop of nature’s fields.


To see more heartwarming images of this adorable grandmother and her precious cat, Misao the Big Mama and Fukumaru the Cat can be purchased directly through Little More Books.



Good lord.




Beauty still exists.







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The 7 Most Ridiculous Things About Calling Out Fake Fangirls

Neil Gaiman’s Advice to Aspiring Artists

Video Game Awards: Telltale’s ‘Walking Dead,’ ‘Journey’ win big

Video Game Awards: Telltale’s ‘Walking Dead,’ ‘Journey’ win big:

I’m kinda shocked Walking Dead won GOTY, but being an old-school adventure game junkie and longtime supporter of Telltale and their efforts to revitalize the genre, (even if they’ve had the odd misstep along the way) not to mention a fan of the comics, I’m pleased. :) Can’t wait to see what they do with Fables.






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Friday, December 7, 2012

bobdobalina: neil-gaiman: poisonousliasons: Before...

















bobdobalina:



neil-gaiman:



poisonousliasons:




Before Photoshop




I miss them still…


They really were that size: paintings and assemblages that Dave would take to get photographed, and send the transparency to DC Comics to use as a cover.



3d views of Dave McKean’s original assemblages for SANDMAN covers.


Imagine the balls required to pitch this to your editor for a monthly comic book series.


Imagine the editor who said yes.







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What Women Want (In Female Video Game Protagonists) | The Mary Sue

To show how awesome The Engineer used to be, one of my very...













To show how awesome The Engineer used to be, one of my very favorite scenes from Ellis and Hitch’s Authority. Angie goes to the moon in The Authority vol.1 #10. I miss her.






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Oh god, Angie, what have they done to you?! D: … and does...





Oh god, Angie, what have they done to you?! D: … and does Midnighter have Wolverine claws? >.<</p>


though I can take a good guess based on previous events and solicits. I’m guessing the ‘devolver’ she swallowed a while back continues to mess with her and causes her to lose more and more of her humanity. When the Eye explodes, she absorbs the wreckage into herself, resulting in giant monster Engineer seen here.


I just hope it can all be reversed somehow… The Engineer was awesome.


Zealot has potential, though. In Wildstorm she and Midnighter had an… antagonistic relationship.






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Thursday, December 6, 2012

Hypothetical Question

gailsimone:




And this is GENUINELY hypothetical, I post it because I think it’s interesting for readers to face the kind of odd scenarios that actually happen pretty regularly for comic book and other writers of licensed characters.


Okay, you are a writer, you have a name for writing licensed characters, doesn’t matter if it’s comics, television, games, tie-in novels, whatever.


Now, there’s a character or set of characters you love. And recently, they seem to have taken a turn you strongly disagree with, and that is in canon, you can’t change it.


And you are offered a job writing those characters.


Would you:


a) Take the job and hope to explain or mitigate the recent canon stuff you disagree with, even if you can’t change it, or…


b) Avoid the characters even if you really love them because of the canon addition, or…


c) Some other option.


Again, this is hypothetical, I am not talking about a book I’m writing, have written, or will write.


I’m just curious. Even if you are pretty secure in your ethics, questions come up all the time that require lots of thought.


So, in this situations, what would you do?




I already answered this in the post but… Figured I would post here too, go into a bit more detail… Option A all the way. Not that I am actually any good as a writer. plotter, maybe, but scripting? pffft. But assuming I could, I couldn’t make things worse, and I might be able to help fix the damage, or at least get the characters beyond that point so the bad part can fade away. Maybe I could play with the change to take it in a more agreeable direction. Someone else may just run with the changes and dig them ever deeper.


The characters I would want to fix currently, and this should come as no surprise to my followers - the Authority characters. They’ve been damaged badly since the reboot, especially The Engineer. I went into it at great length a few days ago. I have an idea for Apollo and Midnighter which ties them to Team 7 and makes it so they can share an origin again, and I think Jack just needs to be written by someone who gets his unusual powerset and how it can be used rather than just constantly having chats with cities… He mostly suffers from being completely under-used. Angie is a tough case, but I’d do my best.


I’d have also loved to try and get Nightcrawler back to being fun and swashbuckler-y back when he was still alive… But I don’t think it would be in good taste to bring him back now. (the AU versions they’re using are fine though, and will have to do)






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Wednesday, December 5, 2012

BRAVEROBOTICS 1/12 scale Transform Robot Version7.2 (by Kenji...





BRAVEROBOTICS 1/12 scale Transform Robot Version7.2 (by Kenji Ishida)






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daggerpen: Me: Cass vs. Midnighter, go.Alex: Whoa, umAlex: ManAlex: That’s a tough oneMe: Yeah, but...

daggerpen:



Me: Cass vs. Midnighter, go.

Alex: Whoa, um

Alex: Man

Alex: That’s a tough one

Me: Yeah, but whoever wins, it’s a fight I’d love to see.

Alex: heck yeah

Me: I think it’s a close enough battle that it’d rather depend on the circumstances.

Alex: I’d give it to Midnighter because while Cass can adapt to any situation, Midnighter can see all the ways it can play out in advance

Alex: But it would be a hell of a fight

Me: But can Cass see him seeing that and know what he’s about to do?

Me: Oh yes.

Alex: No easy hits

Me: Seriously.

Alex: Fuck, why did Cass have to be erased from canon when Midnighter was brought in


Me: … heh

Me: I’m reminded of the conversation between Bruce and Babs

Me: Where Bruce is all “She could see Shiva standing still and know she would lose”

Me: And I’m just picturing, like

Me: They stand and look at each other

Me: Midnighter: … call it a draw?



Cass: … yeah.

Alex: Hahahahaha

Alex: YES

Alex: They’re just standing there looking at each other, and you see a dozen sepia-toned panels depicting ways the fight can go

Alex: And then they both just walk away



I don’t know a lot about Cass, but I would love to see a fight go this way.






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nachtflix: personally-victimized-by-comics: What is this...









nachtflix:



personally-victimized-by-comics:



image



What is this from? I need to read it.



All New X-Men #1. Issue 3 just hit today so you can even get in on the ground floor. Basically, Beast goes back in time to get the old X-Men to talk some sense into Scott, after, you know, killing Xavier while possessed by the Phoenix Force and all.






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APE IN A CAPE: A Slightly Frustrating Thing...

APE IN A CAPE: A Slightly Frustrating Thing...:

gailsimone:



…about the wonderful http://eschergirls.tumblr.com/ and http://thehawkeyeinitiative.com/ .


I think these sites do something hilarious, something I’ve tried to do my whole online history, which I think of as ‘mocktivism,’ that is, activism by mockery. You showcase how absurd something is, you…







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Monday, December 3, 2012

Karen Berger Steps Down as Vertigo Excutive Editor, SVP - Comic Book Resources

Karen Berger Steps Down as Vertigo Excutive Editor, SVP - Comic Book Resources:

This makes me very sad. Sandman is what got me into comics, and for a while, all I read was Vertigo, and Vertigo was her baby. Even after I got going with superhero stuff, I always had at least one Vertigo book that I followed, often ones she edited. If it had the Vertigo logo in the corner, I knew it was worth a look. It was a mark that assured quality. With Karen Berger gone, and the way Vertigo has been shoved aside by DC recently (moving Animal Man, Swamp Thing, and Constantine back to DC proper, among other things. I mean, I love the new Animal Man and Swamp Thing, but… can’t comment on Constantine yet, but I suspect that will be less good, Hellblazer-lite) I suspect Vertigo may be on it’s last legs… I mean, they still have some ongoing series and miniseries coming out, the new Sandman still has me very excited, but with Berger gone, I think we will see less new titles from Vertigo, until it fizzles away. Image will take up the slack, I’m sure, but it’s still sad.






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thehawkeyeinitiative: As far as I’m aware, the Hawkeye as a Strong Female Character thing probably...

thehawkeyeinitiative:



As far as I’m aware, the Hawkeye as a Strong Female Character thing probably traces back to Jeremy Renner’s fine booty and predisposition towards Strong Female Character poses:










you guys, you totally have to check out the Hawkeye Initiative. I feel tempted to submit something if I can find a suitably ‘empowering’ image to Hawkeye-ify. this one is not a drawing like the rest but I found it hilarious.


(Also, it’s got movie-Thor. just… movie-Thor.)






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Saturday, December 1, 2012

Will Gail Simone Leave Batgirl? DC Creative Changes In The Next Few Months | Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors

Will Gail Simone Leave Batgirl? DC Creative Changes In The Next Few Months | Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors:

Well, if this pans out, just… D: (except for Hawkman. feh. Needs all the help it can get if it’s going to survive, which I doubt)


Swamp Thing and Flash especially. I can’t imagine either book without their current creative teams, both are the perfect synergy of creators and characters. Great books, and I want the creators to stay!






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wilwheaton: npr: architizer: MVRDV Architects Proposes...

















wilwheaton:



npr:



architizer:



MVRDV Architects Proposes Towering Green Micro-City Skyscraper for Jakarta!



Whoa. — rachel



This looks like something you’d spend months building in Minecraft!







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